2beerguys beer blog

It’s a once in a Blue Moon kinda day

Gather your friends, family, and neighbors — it’s time to celebrate! Tonight, around 10:00 EDT, a rare event will take place and the moon will be it’s fullest for the second time in a calendar month.  The first full moon took place on August 1st and today is a second full moon, called a “Blue Moon”.  A Blue Moon occurs approximately every two to three years. The last blue moon occurred on December 31, 2009 (unless you count the SMURF’s movie release in 2011).

What is a Blue Moon? (according to Wikipedia)…. “A blue moon can refer to either the third full moon in a season with four full moons, or the second full moon in a month. Most years have twelve full moons that occur approximately monthly. In addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each solar calendar year contains roughly eleven days more than the lunar year of 12 lunations. The extra days accumulate, so every two or three years (7 times in the 19-year Metonic cycle), there is an extra full moon.”

Where did the name come from? (according to Wikipedia)…. “The term “blue moon” comes from folklore. Different traditions and conventions place the extra “blue” full moon at different times in the year. The earliest recorded English usage of the term “blue moon” was in a 1524 pamphlet violently attacking the English clergy, entitled “Rede Me and Be Not Wrothe” (“Read me and be not angry”; or possibly “Counsel Me and Be Not Angry”) “If they say the moon is belewe / We must believe that it is true” [If they say the moon is blue, we must believe that it is true.]”

It’s time to celebrate!

The next Blue Moon won’t rise again until July 2015. Here are some beers, made special for this unique celebration:

Rock Art – Black Moon IPA

Black Moon is a limited-batch beer collaboratively crafted by Rock Art Brewery and Hunger Mountain Coop. Inspired by the private, intimate and richly renewing time when the moon is dark in the sky. Black Moon processes an alluring darkness brimming with possibility. Black Moon is a deep, dark, highly hopped offering whose roasted malts subtly eclipse its bright hop notes, creating a unique full-flavored beer that can be enjoyed throughout the year, savored in moments of solitude or among close friends

Details

• A big bold Black IPA.
• 10% abv and 90 IBU’s

Learn more at http://www.rockartbrewery.com/

Here’s another brew to try on this special day….

Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale.

Caramel Apple Spiced Ale is artfully crafted with roasted caramel malts, cinnamon, nutmeg with a blend a fresh apple juice to invoke the tastes of fall. Appearance is a clear, rich copper color with no haziness that pours with a creamy head. This beer has a warm spice aroma of cinnamon and nutmeg with hints of apple and caramel malts. The taste is a blend of spice and caramel malts with highlights of crisp apples.

Background:
This beer resulted from a year-long campaign in which Blue Moon Brewing Company asked their Facebook fans about everything from ingredients, to names, to label designs. The three finalists were:

• Dark Chocolate Bacon Porter
• Blackberry Tart Ale
• Caramel Apple Spiced Ale

There were sampling events throughout the country this past spring to determine a winner and, while the voting was close, Blue Moon Caramel Apple Spiced Ale won. It will be included in the Blue Moon fall variety pack, as well as limited availability on draft.

Celebrate!
Blue Moon Brewing Company will be hosting a variety of blue moon parties around the country on Aug. 31 to celebrate. From samplings and beer dinners, to brew-master appearances and lunar blue moon viewing parties, there are a lot of activities planned. More details are available at www.BlueMoonBrewingCo.com.